Over the past three decades, the divorce rate among adults 50 years and older has doubled.
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But a new trend called "living apart together" (LAT) is gaining popularity and helping adults form new partnerships later in life, according to research from the University of Missouri.
Couples in LAT relationships have committed monogamous, intimate partnerships with their significant other without committing to marriage or sharing a home together.
"What has long been understood about late-in-life relationships is largely based on long-term marriage," Jacquelyn Benson, lead researcher and professor at the university, told Science Daily. "There are now more divorced and widowed adults who are interested in forging new intimate relationships outside the confines of marriage."
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Researchers interviewed adults 60 years or older in LAT relationships and found they were motivated by independence, maintaining their own residences, retaining financial independence and sustaining family boundaries.
But, according to Benson, while the trend is widely understood in Europe, explaining the relationship to others (and to themselves) using terms such as “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” proves challenging.
“While we are learning more about LAT relationships, further research is needed to determine how LAT relationships are related to issues such as health care and caregiving,” Benson said.
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Talking about sensitive issues such as caregiving and end-of-life planning isn’t easy, but should be a priority in LAT relationships, she said.
Benson and her team are currently recruiting LAT couples in which a partner has recently experienced an adverse health change or if a relationship has ended due to a partner's recent change in health or recent death.
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